Safety for firearms



1949. F. IBISTOFF 2,478,892

SAFETY FOR FIREARMS Filed April 24, 19 46 2 Sheets$heet 1 9 17 l/I'IIIIII/l/ A In ten Z0? 3 i Aug. 16, 1949. I F. L. BIS QFF I 2,478,892

SAFETY FOR FIREARMS Filed April 24, 1946 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WM'CZQ Z 1/ @772 M p Patented Aug. 16, 1949 TES,

2,478,892 SAFETYLFORFI EARMSQ Frederick-L: Bistofi, Lockpormviwf ADifliCationApril 2i, 1946;'-Ser-ial- Noe-6643351 6 Claims; (01. 42:40

adjacent'the trigger .gnardi This typeof safety is'not fully satisfactory because the safety is not well positioned and is slow tom'ove and awkward for fast shooting *orw'ith" cold handsi When big;

game is jumpedpr "birds" are raisedzfrom cover, it'is desirable toyhavea safety"which" can be thrown off""quick y without effort j and without requiring the-operatorttof; take his eyes :ofi the 1 game. The so-called' fshotgfincsaiety is most desired for this wpurpose,'iieg a sa fety rdevioeto prevent unintentional firing offthe gun having a thumb slide arranged on top'pf the grip of the firearm. ,7 i,

It is therefore the prinoipal'object of 'the present invention to' provide Wsaifetyfor firearms of either its ow-"or on"p osltion'" andwhichwill remain in-eithenof its set positions until-reset.

Another? object isfwqfprovide" such asafety which is simple and efiioie'nt' in'oonstruction and.

not liable 'tdrequir'e epairs-.

A further aim "is to 'pfovidesuoh a safety for inexpensive adaptation to conventlonal ty'pes of firearms necessitating onl-y' a mininium "of new parts and: remodeling of the firearm'.

Still other advantages will bereadilyapparent from the :following 'descniption and aooor'npany-- ing drawings wherein-z" Figure 1 a 'fragmentarywertieal longtltudinal' section through a conventional type of lever action 'rifie and-showing such rifle' provide'd with the safetyi device formingEthe-esubj'eet rof the pre ent invention.

Figure-2 is a-view-sirnilar touFig'ure 1 and -'show--- ing the parts ins a; differentri-conditi'on.

Figu'ret; is afragmentary tdpplanviewoftherifle shown-in Figure 1,1.

Figure :4 is a vertioal transvers section taken Figure- 5 a horizontal itransverse- 'seotion tak n'along line:5-5.Fig ure 1.

Figure 6 is a horizontal? transverse section taken along line --B"6 Figure 4:

The-safety deviee'of the-present'invention mar be either incorporatedeis original equipment in) the firearm asgfis' I libwnil m thev accompanying drawings orsthe .finearniniambe adapted .to re.-i ceive theisafetwdevioe. v I

In Fig;;1 is'shown. a ieonventionaltype 0f lever actionrifierhavinggajrame includingeupper and lower ..tangs l 0 Land I ,5 respectively, a;.-trigger I 2 .n pivotallyumounted r onthejlowerftangal l and be-- ing operatively .,conneteditoaisean is which inturn .operatively ,icoeper te's fwitfi Ia;breeoh.b1ock assembly indicated i 'gfl'rielly atlie numeral .1 4,

aotrig'g'er spring}! 5 iseoiuiiedat it reareen'd to. the lower. tangal l andfohaving 'its I rward ,end Len- Y gaging the triggrjil 25a 'oocking levenjlfi pivotally 4 mounted. onithe lower, 9.151821 a.;shoulder stock I! f of. fusual" fformiandil-beiii 'centrally and ver-v tioally reoessediat lfrfontjeridito provide side portions ;l 8-;-| 8 'Iwhiohefiibra'ceathensides of. the .v pper 1 and o lqwer tangs'f' l U lands I l ,andN'a-V- long bolt VI 9 arrangediiri'ahorizontallongitudinal bore 1 in the stoo'kll and tl'iiieadedlylfepga fh .with the. lower: ftangjl l jtnerebygtm "ely connect Lthe stookjito the rra eg m e nr e I They safetyw devlcie ifqrming th ysubjeotfof the present inventionf'inoludes al saftislide member 20 ljreotangul arlin. 'oross isotionl Dand.Jarrange'd in a groove 2|. providedjinithe jlow'e'r tanggl I so as tojbe for'wardly;andf'rearwardly;slidable Itherein, such movement iinieitli dirieotidnobeing limited; by,th'e respeotive'ienda -'.of "a slotifl'iprovidedu in the memberv 2Uicontaotingjafstationary transe verse pin23 mounted inthe lciwertang'jl I. The front end "of the slide member '20; is adapted to engage a fiat 24 fon the jtrigge 'r gll, A laterally:- extending 1ug25is'a1iranged on the cooking lever i I 6 at f a point immediately adjacent (and in. rear of the trigger I23. This lug 2 5 on' its. underside is adapted to be"engagedibyjafinger 26' arranged on the slide member-1120'; whenjth. safety slide member: 20 "is jifithefl locked foifs'afejon p0 I sition shown m-Frg;11 ,the rront end fof the meme her engages the .flat 24 *and prevents the trigger. i 2 from being operatively moved finflai clock se I direction and thereby11prevent hgjg the-I firing mechanism'ofi'th'e riflefr'o 'bein'gfactuated,and; at the "same tii'ne itlil fiilge" z6engag",s the lug), 25 and thus prevents'f'fithe oookingjlever fromjbeirig rotated in; a oounter' cloolgwise'diieetion;'

Means are provided .fo'f Ifatuatingathe safety. slide member 2|] irom.;thtdpmf fliegrip whioh include a vmanuallyn operated actuaton or thumb-l slide 21 projecting,} upw-ardl$*; through alongitudinally elongated "slot; 28 "in. the upper tang .I ll so as to. bellongitudlnallvnfslidableTtherein and is; shown ashav'ing a headlarrangeduon v the: out-- m side -of the "upper-tang and manualli movable by the thumb or other finger lot the operator as desired. The part of the thumb slide 21 arranged below the upper tang I is shown as being offset to the rear and provided with a downwardly projecting extension having a transverse slot 29. The slot 29 receives a transverse pin 30 carried by the upper end of a walking beam member or lever 31 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a pivot pin or screw 32 which is carried by a support 33. The support 33 is in the form of an L-shaped bracket which is secured to the lower tang H by a screw 34. As best shown in Fig. 4, the lever 3| is provided with a bushing 35 through which the screw 32 extends, the inner end of this screw threadedly engaging with the support 33, although any'pthersuitable means for mounting the lever3l on the support 33 or other part of the frame-may be employed.

Referring to Fig. 4, the lower part of the lever 3! is offset laterally outwardly beginning imme diately below its pivotal mounting and thence continues straight downwardly through a recess or undercut 36 provided in the right side of thelowertang ll, thejextreme lower end of the lever beingc urved inwardly and bifurcated so that the fingers 3'l-3'l formed thereby straddle extension .38 which extends laterally outwardly from the safety slide member 20. The inner opposing edges of thefingers 31 are slightly convex. Detent means are provided for yieldingly retaining the thumb 511C182] in either of its two adjusted positions and for this purpose, referring to Fig. 6, the upper tang I0 is provided with a transverse horizontal hole 39 which leadshfrom the.

right side of the upper tang to the slot 28 and in which are arranged a follower40 constantly urged inwardly by a spring and backed up by aretainer plug 42 which screws into the outer end of the hole39. The, inner end of the follower diihas a roundnose which engages either a frontor rear inclined cam surface 43 and 44, respectively, provided in a groove45 on the right side of that portionof the thumbslide' 21 which is arranged in the slot 28. The cam surfaces 43 and.

id are reversely inclined. with their .opposing vertical .edges, joining atan apex as shownin.

Fig. 6 and the follower 40, engages the cam sur-. face. 43 when the thumb slide 21 is in its rear position as-limited bythe thumbslide striking the reartransverse wall of the slot 28. When the thumb slide is pushed forwardly to. thebroken.

line position shown in Fig. 6, the front cam surface 43 forces the follower .40. farther into the hole 39, thereby further compressing the spring 4i until the follower passes the vertical. apex of the cam surfaces 43 and .44 and thereafter the. spring 39, forces the, follower. 4i! out of the hole 3 Instead of providing. such detent means in connection with the thumbslide 21,. detent means can. be providedin connectionwith either the safety slide member 20 or the lever 3|, the .purpose being in any arrangement to yieldingly re tain the. member 21! in its. forward operative .or rearward inoperative position.

The safety is onin.Fig. l. p The thumb slide is in its rearinostposition andit willbe noted that the safety slide member is in its forward position and engages the flat 24 on the trigger l2 and the finger 26 of said member engages the lug 25 formed on the cocking lever l6.

Neither the trigger nor the cooking lever can be operated. To move the safety to the off position, the thumb slide 2! is pushed forwardly to its most forward position, as shown in "Fig. 2, and as previously described herein the detent means will tend to maintain the thumb slide in this position.

the pin 33 and thereby rotates the lever 3,! in a clockwise direction about the pivot pin The lower end of the lever 3! thus moves the safety slide member 28 rearwardly in the groove 2! thereby removing the front end of the member from the flat '24 and disengaging the finger 26 and'the lug 25. The trigger is then free to be operated to actuate the firing mechanism of the rifle and the cockinglever is free to be operated, as is shown in Fig. 2.

If the conventional type of lever action rifle shown in the accompanying drawings and described hereinabove does'not have the safety device forming the subject of the present invention incorporated therein as original equipment, the rifle can easily be adapted for such safety device. If the upper tang I0 is not long enough to mount the thumb slide 21, an upper tang extension (not shown) can be connected to the tang and additionally supported by extending the support 33 upwardly and connecting the same to the upper tang extension, the vertical recess in the front end of the stock I! being further hollowed out to accommodate the parts. If such rifle has the safety slide member 23 already incorporated therein with some form of detent means to tend to maintain the member in either its forward or rear position, these detent means can be easily removed and the slide member adapted to operate in the manner described hereinabove. Furthenthe undercut 35 can be readily made in the lower tang H if not already present and the modified support 3| can replace a breech block assembly'stop that may have been incorporatedas an original partof the rifle.

Changes, variations and modifications to the specific form of the present invention shown and described herein are possible and it is not intended to limit the invention to the form shown except as may be defined in the'following claims.

I claim:

1. In a shoulder firearm having a frame including upper and lower tangs, a shoulder stock extending rearwardly from said tangs and having a grip portion adjacent said tangs, a trigger and cocking lever pivotally mount-ed'on said lower tang, a safety slide member arranged on said lower tang and slideable forwardly to engage said trigger and cooking lever thereby to prevent their operation and slideable rearwardly to disengage said trigger and cooking lever thereby to-permit them to be operated, and a laterally extending lug on' said safety slide member and arranged below said lower tang, the combina-- tion therewith of means for operating said safety slide member comprising a'lever arranged in a slot provided in one side of said lower tang and extending below and above said lower tang, the lower extremity of said lever being'operatively connected to said lug on said safety slide member, a thumb piece forwardly andrearwardly slideably arranged on said upper tangimmediately in advanceof said grip portion, means op- The forward movement of the thumb slide causes the slot 29 therein to shift eratively connecting the-upperfextremity of said leviervtoflsaid thumb pi ece,. .and means pivotally supporting said lever whereby morement ofsaid thumb piece in either direction effects movement of said safety slide memberin the opposite directionl.v V

2; In a rshoulder firearmhaving a frame :ineluding; upper and lower tangs,. au-shoulder.stock extending-,rearwardly from said .tangs andhaving a grip-portion adjacent said tangs,;atrigger and cocking lever pivotally mounted on said lower tang, a safetyslide member arranged on said lower tang and slideable forwardly to engage said triggenand cocking leverthereby to prevent their operation andslideable-rearwardly to disengage said trigger and cocking lever, thereby tofpermit them to be operated, and a laterally extending lug on said safety slide member and arranged below said lower tang, the combination therewith of means for operating said safety slide member comprising a lever arranged in a slot provided in one side of said lower tang and extending below and above said lower tang, the lower extremity of said lever being notched to receive said lug on said safety slide member, a thumb piece forwardly and rearwardly slideably arranged on said upper tang immediately in advance of said grip portion, a pin and slot connection between the upper extremity of said lever and said thumb piece, and means pivotally mounting said lever on one of said tangs so as to be pivotable about an axis extending transversely of said lever and intermediate said extremities thereof whereby movement of said thumb piece in either direction effects movement of said safety slide member in the opposite direction.

3. In a, shoulder firearm having a frame including upper and lower tangs, a shoulder stock extending rearwardly from said tangs and having a grip portion adjacent said tangs, a trigger and cocking lever pivotally mounted on said lower tang, a safety slide member arranged on said lower tang and slideable forwardly to engage said trigger and cocking lever thereby to prevent their operation and slideable rearwardly to disengage said trigger and cooking lever thereby to permit them to be operated, and a laterally extending lug on said safety slide member and arranged below said lower tang, the combination therewith of means for operating said safety slide member comprising a lever arranged in a slot provided in one side of said lower tang and extending below and above said lower tang, the lower extremity of said lever being operatively connected to said lug on said safety slide member, a, thumb piece forwardly and rearwardly slideably arranged on said upper tang immediately in advance of said grip portion, means operatively connecting the upper extremity of said lever to said thumb piece, means pivotally supporting said lever so as to be pivotable about an axis extending transversely of said lever and intermediate said extremities thereof whereby forward movement of said thumb piece effects rearward movement of said safety slide member and vice versa, and means yieldingly urging said thumb piece toward either its extreme forward or extreme rearward position.

4. In a shoulder firearm having a frame including upper and lower tangs, a shoulder stock extending rearwardly from said tangs and having a grip portion adjacent said tangs, a trigger and cocking lever pivotally mounted on said lower tang, a safety slide member arranged on saidlower tang and -*slide'able -forwardly{to errgage said-ltrigger and cocking leverthereby to prevent theinoperation and slideable rearward-j ly{'to dlsengage said trigger and -cock i ng' -lever thereby "to permit them-to be operated; and fa laterallyextending lug "on said safety slideimerne" ber-and arrange'd-.'-below said lower tang; the combination '--there with' of means for operating said safetyslide member comprising a'le'ver ar-g rangedinaslotprovided in; one side of said'low-j er-tang-and extending below and above said lower tang,--th'e-=-lo'wer extremity-of said lever being operatlvely connected to said lug on "said safety slide member, a thumb piece forwardly and'rear wardl-yslideably arranged on said upper tang 1m": mediately'in advance of said grip portion, mean's operatively connecting the upper extremity ofsaid lever lto =said thumb piece, means pivotally supporting said lever so as to be piVQtable-about an axisextending "transversely of said lever and intermediate said extremities thereof whereby forward movement of said thumb piece effects rearward movement of said safety slide member and vice versa, and means yieldingly urging said thumb piece toward either its extreme forward or extreme rearward position, comprising a salient cam on one lateral side of said thumb piece having reversely inclined contiguous vertical cam surfaces, a follower engaging said cam and mounting on said upper tang for reciprocable movement in a direction transverse to the direction of movement and spring means constantly urging said follower into engagement with said cam.

5. In a shoulder firearm having a frame including upper and lower tangs, a shoulder stock extending rearwardly from said tangs and having a grip portion adjacent said tangs, a trigger and cocking lever pivotally mounted on said lower tang, and a safety slide member arranged on said lower tang and slideable forwardly to engage said trigger and cocking lever thereby to prevent their operation and slideable rearwardly to disengage said trigger and cocking lever thereby to permit them to be operated, the combination therewith of means for operating said safety slide member comprising a bracket mounted on said lower tang and having an upstanding arm, a lever arranged laterally of one side of said upstanding arm and having its extremities arranged adjacent said upper and lower tangs, means pivotally mounting said lever intermediate its ends on the upper end of said upstanding arm, a thumb piece forwardly and rearwardly slideably arranged on said upper tang immediately in advance of said grip portion, means operatively connecting the upper extremity of said lever to said thumb piece and means operatively connecting the lower extremity of said lever to said safety slide member whereby movement of said thumb piece in either direction operates to swing said lever and thereby move said safety slide member in the opposite direction.

6. The combination of safety mechanism with a rifle of the type comprising a frame including upper and lower tangs, a shoulder stock extending rearwardly from said tangs and having a grip portion adjacent said tangs, a trigger pivoted on said lower tang and having a rearward projection, a cooking lever pivoted on said lower tang and having a laterally extending lug arranged adjacent said rearward projection when said trigger and cooking lever are in their inoperative positions, said safety mechanism comprising a bracket mounted on said lower tang '7 and having an upstanding arm, a lever arranged laterally of one side of said upstanding arm, means pivotally mounting said lever intermediate its ends on the upper end of said upstanding arm, a thumb piece forwardly and rearwardly slideably arranged on the top side of said rifle at said grip portion, means operatively connecting the upper end of said lever to said thumb piece, and elements operatively associated with the lower end of said lever and movable thereby into engagement with said rearward projection and lug to prevent operation of said trigger and cooking lever and also movable by said lever out of engagement with said rearward projection and lug to permit operation of said trigger and cooking lever whereby movement of said thumb piece in either direction operates to swing said lever and move said elements in the opposite direction.

' FREDERICK L. BISTOFF.

*8 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 436,099 Mayott Sept. 9, 1890 741,506 Kirmse Oct. 13, 1903 776,381 Brooks Nov. 29, 1904 1,071,994 Flues Sept. 2, 1913 1,249,175 Nelson Dec. 4, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,993 Great Britain 1881 3,274

Great Britain 1895 

